The NCAA Evaluation Period is a specific time of year when college coaches are allowed to watch an athlete compete in person or visit their school. While coaches can’t talk to athletes off the college campus, they can still call, email, text and direct message recruits. Evaluation periods are very specific, and not all sports have them. The only sports with these periods are DI football (FBS and FCS), DI Men’s/Women’s Basketball, DI Women’s Volleyball, DI Softball, DII Football and DII Men’s/Women’s Basketball.
For more on the topic, check out former D1 football player Phill Wells in this video breaking down what an evaluation period is.
What to expect during the NCAA evaluation period
The evaluation period is a time for coaches to evaluate athletes who they are seriously recruiting. By this point, the coach has been communicating with the recruit, has watched their highlight film and probably checked out their academic eligibility. The evaluation period is an opportunity to do two different things:
- Watch the recruit compete in-person. Highlight films can only show so much of an athlete’s ability and character on the field. When evaluating the recruit in-person, coaches can see what goes on between the highlights. The coach will either attend a “made for recruiting” showcase/tournament or an athlete’s practice. They are evaluating the athlete’s attitude, body language and how they interact with their teammates and coaches. In other words, they want to know who you are as an athlete.
- Evaluate a recruit’s character. Coaches might drop in at a recruit’s school during the evaluation period. They will seek out a recruit’s guidance counselor, coach and perhaps other key members of the staff who interact with the recruit on a daily basis. Some coaches have been known to talk to the school janitor or team managers! The purpose? The coach wants to get a better sense of the athlete’s personality and character to ensure they would be a positive addition to the team.
Insider Tip: Be aware of the impression that you leave on the people you’re around every day, and always be prepared for a coach to drop in at your school.
Even though coaches can watch recruits compete during the evaluation period, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will just show up to your game or school one day. Remember, coaches have a lot of recruits to evaluate, and they have to plan their time wisely. They are only able to visit recruits who they are seriously interested in. By the time the evaluation occurs, the coach already has a good idea of a recruit’s talent level. Instead, coaches want to see those intangibles like character, leadership, sportsmanship and coachability.
Read more on how to be more coachable.
Insider Tip: While coaches typically use evaluation periods to visit high school juniors and sometimes seniors, that doesn’t mean freshmen and sophomores are off the hook. Coaches will notice any standout underclassmen who are on the team of the athlete they are evaluating.
When is the NCAA evaluation period?
For all the DI sports not listed below, the NCAA has established a basic recruiting rule around evaluations. Coaches are able to evaluate each recruit seven times throughout the year. Those seven evaluations are a combination of two different types of in-person visits:
- An evaluation in which the coach can talk to the recruit and their family
- An evaluation in which the coach cannot talk to the recruit and their family
Of the seven in-person evaluations coaches can make per recruit, no more than three of them can be evaluations in which the coach is able to talk to the recruit and their family. Thankfully, it’s up to the coach to keep track of these in-person evaluations; however, it can only benefit you to know what the rules are.
Insider Tip: You should always be prepared for a coach to visit you. However, because each coach has a limited number of evaluations per athlete, they will probably schedule their visit with you rather than just showing up.
The calendar tells you when. We’ll help with everything else.
Talk to a recruiting expert about where your athlete stands and what to do before the next contact or evaluation period.
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2026–27 NCAA evaluation periods
| Sport | Evaluation Period(s) | Restrictions / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DI Men’s Basketball | TBD | NBA G League Combine only |
| TBD | NBA Draft Combine only | |
| TBD | NBPA Top 100 Camp only | |
| May 14–16, 2027 | NCAA certified events + international scholastic/nonscholastic team practice & competition; runs Friday 8 a.m. – Sunday 4 p.m. | |
| June 11–13, 2027 | Approved NCAA, NFHS and two-year college governing body scholastic events | |
| June 25–27, 2027 | Same as above | |
| July 8–11 & July 15–18, 2027 | NCAA certified events, institutional camps, permissible governing body events, international team practice/competition; runs Thursday 8 a.m. – Sunday 6 p.m. | |
| DI Women’s Basketball | Oct 1, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027 | Scholastic activities only |
| Apr 23–25, 2027 | Seniors and two-year college PSAs only; for other PSAs, scholastic activities only (Apr 22 & Apr 26 are single-day dead periods bracketing it) | |
| May 14–16, 2027 | Same senior/two-year college restriction | |
| June 17 @ noon – June 19 @ 6 p.m., 2027 | Scholastic events approved by NCAA/NFHS and intercollegiate events approved by the applicable two-year college governing body (Bylaw 13.1.7.6.2) | |
| July 9–12, 2027 | Certified nonscholastic events only | |
| July 23–26, 2027 | Certified nonscholastic events only | |
| FBS Football (fall calendar) | Sep 1 – Nov 29, 2026 | 33 evaluation days (42 for U.S. service academies) during the fall evaluation period |
| FCS Football (fall calendar) | Sep 1 – Nov 29, 2026 | 33 evaluation days (42 for U.S. service academies) |
| DI Women’s Lacrosse | Nov 6–8, 13–15 & 20–22, 2026 (5 p.m. Friday – Sunday) | The three weekends immediately before Thanksgiving; on the third weekend, coaches may evaluate only at IWLCA showcase/tournament events |
| May 28–30, 2027 | One event during championship weekend within a 100-mile radius of the WLax championship site; coaches can’t attend within two hours before/after the semifinals or final | |
| June 11 – July 31, 2027 | Interrupted by a July 2–6 dead period | |
| DI Softball | Aug 10 – Nov 22, 2026 | Scholastic practice and competition activities only |
| Oct 17–18, 24–25, Oct 31–Nov 1, Nov 7–8, 14–15, 21–22, 2026 (fall weekends) | Scholastic and nonscholastic practice or competition activities | |
| Jan 3 – May 31, 2027 | Scholastic practice and competition only | |
| Undated | Evaluation permitted during high school regional and state championship competition that does not occur during a dead period | |
| DI Beach Volleyball | Dec 7–15, 2026 | — |
| Jan 1–15, 2027 | — | |
| May 1–4, 2027 | — | |
| May 10–28, 2027 | Surrounds the May 5–9 championship dead period, which allows a one-day, one-event evaluation within 30 miles of the championship site |
Be on coaches’ lists before the evaluation period opens
Coaches build their watch lists months before they ever hit the road. Create your free NCSA recruiting profile so you’re on their radar when the calendar says they can come see you.
